Prospect Spotlight: Tamar Bates (2021)

<p><strong>Tamar Bates</strong> (2021) is the younger brother of Trey Bates III as they both play for Piper High School in what is arguably the states most talented brotherly duo.</p> <p>Much like his brother, he has been playing basketball practically his whole life but had an interesting start to his career on the hardwood.</p> <p>When he was old enough to play, he initially didn’t have interest in playing the sport but found more allure in being the mascot. Thus, he didn’t play for the first couple years until about the age of five when he hit the hardwood.</p> <p>His dreams and aspirations have since ballooned as he hopes to one day play the game professionally.</p> <p>Tamar describes himself as a slashing, long guard who can get it done on both ends of the floor consistently. He uses his length well to get to the basket, is a good spot up shooter, and can create off the dribble.</p> <p>At 6’3’’ and only a sophomore, it wouldn’t be outlandish to think that Tamar could grow a few more inches. Such an event would really put him on the map as a national recruit given his skill level and potential over the next few years.</p> <p>Tamar is a lefty and says his biggest focus right now is making his right as strong as his left so there is no less-dominant hand and make him that much harder to guard.</p> <p>He draws his motivation in life from his nana, Felicia Hurst, who passed away in 2013. He said that she was a huge part of his life before her passing and he works every day to make her proud.</p> <p>This summer, Tamar played on the Under Armour circuit with KC Run GMC, an experience that he said, was the best AAU experience of his life.</p> <blockquote> <p>“Playing with them helped me go into the season with more of a dog mentality and holding myself accountable while giving my best effort at all times because I was always held accountable when playing with Run GMC and I still am.”</p> </blockquote> <p>Tamar plans on playing with them again this summer.</p> <p>Piper is having a great year so far and Tamar has transitioned his role on the team from sixth man to a starter and major producer. Tamar is averaging over 15 PPG, 3 APG, 1.5 steals, and is shooting 56% from the field.</p> <p>His experience last year helped him be more prepared for his role this year, he said, but he’s always expected the most out of himself so mentally he has been prepared for major minutes early in his high school career.</p> <p>Rival high school coaches told me last year that they haven’t seen a freshman that good in a really, really long time in that league.</p> <p>What’s next for Tamar? Well, two years of high school of course but he has already started to garner interest from schools. He wants to end up at a school at the next level that allows him to make an impact immediately and that has his best interest at heart.</p> <p>As of now, he has heard from Purdue, Iowa, and Nebraska with a host of schools yet to come in the rest of his high school career.</p>